Kirk
Choosing the right mattress is hugely important because, firstly, we spend a lot of our time sleeping, and secondly, having the wrong mattress can adversely affect health. If people wake up during the night due to discomfort or begin the day with aches and pains caused by 8 hours spent on the wrong kind of surface, that can inevitably have a long term negative knock on effect. Sleep also allows the body to rebuild, with cells being regenerated and muscle tissue developed, so it’s a vital element of the body recharging.
In this article we will look at how to work out which is the best mattress for individual sleeping positions, the different types of mattresses available, what foam mattresses are and how to decide what is the best foam mattress for your back.
People sleep in all sorts of different positions, but there are three main ones, and once that’s established, it can be used to help work out what is the best mattress to buy. Sleeping in the foetal position, or on the side, is the most common, and is particularly helpful for those who suffer from heartburn or acid reflux and for pregnant mothers to be. Those who sleep on their backs will find it benefits spinal alignment as it keeps it natural, and because the face is not crumpled into a pillow it can also help reduce the probability of wrinkles. Stomach sleepers are less likely to snore, but this position can lead to overarching the curve of the spine and straining the neck.
To work out which kind of mattress is suited to a particular kind of sleeping position, establishing what the pressure points are is helpful – this is an area on the surface of the body which is sensitive to pressure and presses against the mattress, so a happy medium between softness and support is ideal. Side sleepers are best suited to softer designs to give more cushioning and allow the body to sink into the mattress, whereas back sleepers need a strong core support system thus pocket spring mattresses are the best type to choose, and stomach sleepers need something that is both firm but has enough softness to cradle the joints.
There are a variety of mattresses available to choose from, including spring, orthopaedic, foam and combination. Memory foam was originally developed by NASA to make airplane cushions safer and more comfy and today is best known for its use in mattresses. It can help increase blood circulation as well as reducing strains on aching joints and its anti-microbial qualities reduce the number of bugs that can aggravate allergies. Memory foam is a low-resilience, high density polyurethane foam that reacts to the body’s temperature, thus becoming soft enough to shape around a person very quickly, and when the weight is removed it will return to its original shape.
Memory foam mattresses can be found in varieties from firm to supple. Since memory foam distributes the weight evenly, it should still give people the firmness people require without causing problems with backs, hips and joints. There are memory foam toppers available to buy but these will not give the quality of weight distribution that a high-density memory foam mattress will. Some foam mattresses also feature temperature sensitive foam to offer a cool and comfortable night’s sleep.
Another option to consider are combination mattresses which give the best of all worlds – they combine traditional craftsmanship with innovative mattress technology from leading manufacturers. Providing both the support and comfort of springs and the benefits of pressure relieving top layers of foam they aim to offer optimum rest throughout the night.
Deciding on which type of mattress to buy can be confusing, so its important to think about what suits individual situations – if it’s a double mattress, the requirements of two people need to be taken into account. Its not just comfort, but also cost, too, that has to be considered, as some memory foam mattresses can be more expensive due to the cost of materials. However, this is a long-term investment that will have benefits not only to comfort but health as well.
Once its been decided which type of mattress to buy, researching the best foam mattresses Can be done online and by visiting shops to try them out. After all, its easy to read about what they will feel like, but the real test comes when they can be touched, sat on, and sometimes, depending on which retailer is used, reclined upon!
